Fluid shortenings are useful in the preparation of baked goods and in bread-making processes. The function of fluid shortenings is similar to the function of plastic shortenings in baking processes, but fluid shortenings are much preferred for use in commercial processes due to ease of handling, pumping, and metering. Such fluid shortenings characteristically are fluid at temperatures of about 60.degree. F. to 100.degree. F. and should not become unstable in storage over this temperature range, or in use, by separation into distinct liquid and liquids-solid phases. They should have a stabilized fluid consistency wherein the viscosity remains relatively constant over a wide temperature range.
In commercial baking operations, loaves of bread are subjected to many mechanical shocks which have a deleterious effect on the volume of the loaf; that is, the finished product. Thus, it has been conventional practice in bread making, on a commercial scale, to have in the shortening composition, certain components broadly classed as "dough conditioners" whose function is to minimize the effects of mechanical shocks on the final loaf volume.
In prior Pat. No. 3,914,452, assigned to assignees of the present application, there is disclosed a fluid shortening containing about 4 to 14 weight parts of soft mono- and diglycerides, about 2 to 8 weight parts of ester emulsifier, 0 to about 8 weight parts of solid stearine, and at least about 40 weight parts of liquid vegetable oil. The stabilized fluid shortening is produced by melting a blend of these components at a temperature sufficient to force a melt, votating the blend at temperatures of about 82.degree. F. to about 86.degree. F., and fluidizing or stehling the votated mixture to obtain substantially 100% conversion to the stable betapolymorphic form. The ester emulsifiers are selected from the group consisting of ethoxylated esters of fatty acids, such as polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate; lactylates such as sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate; and succinylated monoglycerides. It is indicated in the patent that the preferred ester emulsifiers are ethoxylated glycerides comprising mono- and diglycerides, conventionally described as a mixture of stearate, palmitate, and lesser amounts of myristate partial esters of glycerine condensed with approximately 20 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alpha monoglyceride reaction mixture; such as set forth in The Food Codex and FDA Regulations, and more particularly set forth in Egan Pat. No. 3,433,645.
In prior application Ser. No. 930,746, filed on Aug. 3, 1978, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,606, also assigned to assignees of the present application, there is disclosed a different shortening containing, in addition to vegetable oil and mono- and diglyceride, a combination of ester emulsifiers; namely, about 2 to about 8 weight parts of ethoxylated mono- and diglyceride in combination with about 2 to about 8 weight parts of solid, beta-phase crystalline, food emulsifier component selected from the group consisting of an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of an acyl lactylate, and a succinylated mono- and diglyceride. As with the shortening of the '452 patent, stabilization is effected by producing a melt of a blend of the shortening components, votating the blend at a temperature of about 80.degree. F. to about 90.degree. F., and fluidizing the votated mixture to obtain substantially 100% conversion to the stable beta-polymorphic form. It was found, in accordance with the invention of such prior application, that the solid-phase crystalline food emulsifier component, in the presence of the ethoxylated fatty ester, remained in whole or in part suspended and in solid-phase form in the shortening composition following fluidization. At the same time, the solid-phase crystalline food emulsifier component was beta-forming in the sense that this was the predominate crystal form adopted by such component on rapid chilling of the shortening from a melt form, followed by fluidization.
In both of the above shortenings, an ethoxylated fatty acid ester is a critical ingredient of the shortening. It has now been discovered that ethylene oxide during polymerization can form 1, 4-Dioxane as a by-product, which has been shown to be carcinogenic in rats and guinea pigs when administered orally. Therefore, although food grade ethoxylated dough conditioners such as ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides have not been shown to contain 1,4-Dioxane, it seems desirable to replace the ethoxylates with other classes of ingredients which perform the same conditioning functions without the potential risk.
The use of fatty acid esters of polyglycerol in shortenings is not unknown in the art. However, such use has generally been restricted to shortening compositions for stable cream icings and cakes. An example of this application is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,383, to James H. Menzies, which patent discloses a shortening comprising 80-90% liquid base oil, about 2 to about 10% hard stock, and an emulsifier combination comprising (a) a monoester of glycerol and fatty acid; (b) monoester of polyoxyethylene sorbitan and fatty acid; (c) decaglycerol ester of fatty acid, e.g., decaglycerol triester (Drewpol 10-3-SH, trademark Drew Chemical Corp.); and (d) monoester of propylene glycol and fatty acid. It is indicated in the patent that the decaglycerol ester additive is important to the fluid shortening as an emulsifier for dispersing the shortening in an aqueous phase, for cake-making, and for obtaining improved stability of cream icings. No reference is made in the patent to the use of the shortening in yeast-raised bakery products. The hard stock is defined as a solid triglyceride, what is normally referred to in the art as stearine.